Do you wish for fresh inspiration? Some tasty dinner ideas for fall? Look no further. Check out this ultimate list of meals for dinner to make your fall meal planning easier.
Whether you have a craving for a savory Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Olives or a simple dinner of Game Day Appetizers, keeping a list of meals for dinner that you know your family loves is always a winning strategy. Start your list today for easy meal planning over the coming months.
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Fall has arrived! And with it, there’s a decided change of pace — and of taste!
The sparkling beverages and light meals that were oh-so-appealing just a few weeks ago don’t seem so enticing now that the days are shortening and a chill has hit the air.
Bring on the warm cuppa and the hearty main dishes!
As your days start to fill up and fall into a rhythm, you may feel the need to reestablish some regular, no brainer meal plans, especially geared toward this season.
One thing that can really speed up your meal planning is the practice of dinner theme nights and keeping a list of meals for dinner that you can draw on in the coming weeks. When you start cataloging your family favorites, meal planning is a snap.
Why It Matters
It saves time. When you keep a list of favorite meal ideas, you don’t have to wander around the house asking people what they want for dinner. Meal planning is as simple as selecting a few different themes to plan your week around and choosing recipes you know are already approved.
It saves money. Keeping a catalog of favorite meals can help you identify which pantry staples to keep on hand. Not only will this save you time, but it can also save you money since you’ll often have whatever you need in the cupboard all ready.
Consider these fall recipes to add to your list of meals for dinner.
Soups, Stews, and Chilis
Soup is good food. As are stews and chilis. They are easy to prepare, can be made with pantry staples and even leftovers, and they easily stretch to feed a crowd.
While Soup Night may be greeted with the one side eye if you’ve got a picky eater, there’s no reason to wimp out when it comes to serving soup, a filling and healthy meal that is cheap and easy to pull off.
That said, there’s a whole world of soups, stews, and chilis to explore with your people.
Add some of these tried and true favorites to your list of meals for dinner:
Football Food
Fall marks the signal of game days, game nights, and games all the live-long-day. If your people are sports fans, then you really need to pay better attention to the day of the week, especially when you’re meal planning.
While you can’t plan game day food Sunday, Monday, AND Thursday, you might want to plan for at least one meal that caters to game watching.
Consider something easily portable, not too messy, kind of on the munchy side of things. And if you aren’t football fans, don’t sweat it. These are good eats regardless!
Pasta Night
Most kids really do love pasta. And so should parents! It’s easy, it’s cheap, it’s filling.
Even better you can customize it to suit your preferences at the same time as allow the children their simpler tastes. Make one batch of noodles and then vary the toppings and sauces. A Pasta Salad Bar is super easy to do.
Here are some favorite pasta dishes to add to your list of meals for dinner:
Casseroles
It’s been awhile since you’ve really hunkered down with casseroles, hasn’t it? Thank goodness for fall when it’s totally appropriate to serve “hot dish” for supper.
One-dish meals full of flavor? Yes, please! I think it’s time to whip up a bunch for the freezer!
Casseroles are comfort food that is easy to make ahead and freeze. Make several at once to stash away for later. And you can even take a meal to friends.
Consider adding these delicious casseroles to your list of meals for dinner:
- Green Chicken Enchiladas with Cream Cheese
- Mashed Potato Casserole (41 cents/serving)
- Single Crust Pot Pie (77 cents/serving)
- Easy Chicken Casserole Recipes
- Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe (44 cents/serving)
- Cheese Enchilada Recipe (54 cents/serving)
- Easy Chicken Divan with Curry (79 cents/serving)
- Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole (63 cents/serving)
Sandwiches
While spring and summer are apt times to serve a cold sandwich bar, you might want to heat things up with hot sandwiches.
Whether you grill up burgers or steak or cook up a sandwich filling in the slow cooker or instant pot, having a hot filling can make sandwiches a lot more fun in the fall months.
Try these out and see what makes the list:
Pizza Night
Homemade pizza is incredibly easy to prepare, perfect for Friday nights. Making pizza at home is not rocket science and is sure to be a not-to-be-missed meal on the calendar.
One of the best things going for pizza — besides the fact that it’s PIZZA! — is that you can top it with little bits of leftover meat, veg, and cheese from other meals throughout the week. It’s a perfect catch-all supper.
Be sure to include a weekly pizza night to your list of meals for dinner:
Crockpot Meals
It may be hard to say goodby to summer, but it’s great to say hello to fall — particularly when there are so many tasty dinner ideas to make the most of the season.
The slow cooker, while a year-round friend, is particularly welcome when cooler temps arrive since braises and hearty meat dishes can warm us up. There’s a whole host of cheap crock pot meals to include in your list of go-to dinners.
This post was originally published on September 18, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Denise
I’m old school and prefer printed plans and recipes. I would be willing to pay for an ebook that I can print with all these recipes included. Would you consider assembling an ebook or PDF?
Jessica Fisher
Hey Denise, please check out our store. We have loads of meal plans for sale: https://learn.goodcheapeats.com/product-category/meal-plans/
SharonMarie @ kitchengrapevine.com
Love, love, love fall and home cooking. My favorite food for fall is a yummy warm apple crisp. I also love to make soups, Chili and Broccoli with Cheese being the favorites!! The cool crisp air of fall just puts me into the mood to cook!
[email protected] The Dollar Hollering Homemaker
We’ve been indulging in homemade caramel apple cider, and I’m excited about getting back to baking…
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama
My 3-year-old hates soup. I still serve it a few times a week and she’ll sigh and pick through a few bites, usually. The rest of us really like it, so she has to deal. 🙂
Surprisingly I did a chicken and bacon green salad over the weekend and everyone ate it. Not really “fall” but a new one for us. My 2-year-old loved the homemade (very garlicky) dressing and asked for more twice!
Family favorites include pork chops and rice, pizza, roast chicken (tonight!), and tacos. Most of these make regular appearances on our meal plan. Taco salad is our go-to meal if we don’t have a plan.
It’s unfortunate, but I LOVE complex flavors and gourmet foods and I enjoy making them. But for the most part no one else will eat them! Oh well…every now and then I make them anyway. 🙂
Jessica Fisher
I try to make recipes that I can doctor up for myself after I serve the others. 🙂
Beth
I love this post as I am most in my cooking element during the autumn and winter.
Have you ever tried making your own enchilada sauce? I experimented with it this last batch of freezer cooking because I figured out my kids didn’t like enchiladas because the TJ’s sauce I was using is too spicy. The red sauce went over well and I haven’t tried the roasted salsa verde version yet (yes, I know. Not technically enchilada sauce. :)) If you make your own I’d love to see a recipe.
Admittedly, this made enchiladas even more of an ordeal. Between homemade refried beans, chicken I thawed, brined, roasted and shredded, greens from the Farmer’s Market I snuck in, and shredding my own cheese, adding homemade sauce to the mix made it a little crazy. Then there’s the matter of only one pan to freeze them in so I had to do batches. I think it took me 3 days to get all that done!
Lucky
I’m making taco soup tonight — my picky son will usually eat some if I give him some cheese to sprinkle on top and crackers on the side. DH will eat it if I have a loaf of bread for dipping and either homemade iced tea or lemonade for drinking.
Barb @ A Life in Balance
Thanks for the inspiration! I had 2 soups on the menu last fall and winter – chicken stew and tomato with pasta. I love soups, however, we just never got around to serving them.
On Friday nights, I’ve been switching back and forth between homemade pizza and homemade calzones. The kids love to help with both, and as long as I plan the time to make them, we’re usually fine. I do need to make the dough early in the day because I’m exhausted by the end of the day.
Heather
What a great post! I am printing most of these recipes. Your link to the roasted vegetable soup isn’t working though and googling didn’t help me. Can you check your link?
Jessica Fisher
It should work now. Thanks!
Liz
I don’t usually cook a lot of soup but I’ve got a carcass in the freezer (a turkey carcass that is) and will be trying my hand at turkey soup. My kids love potato soup so that’s the one that we normally serve. While I’m dreading winter I’m looking forward to pulling out our winter menu also.
renee @ FIMBY
Thanks for the linky love. We eat a lot of soup here in the fall and winter.
Angela
We had our first pot of chili this weekend. Temps dipped into the 60s at night and humidity was low, which meant it felt MUCH cooler than it has been feeling – a welcome relief!
I love soup night too…and it will begin a regular appearance once it cools off a little more.
carmen @ life blessons
Mmm, I love a good chili come autumn! I like your idea of 2 soups per week. I don’t make them that often, but when I do, my favorite kind to make is with sweet potatoes and black beans. (Here’s the recipe if you’re interested in adding a healthy vegetarian option to your rotation!)
Shannon
On Friday nights, I am going to be alternating breakfast for dinner and pizza.
karen
On the soup issue–my kids (ages 6 and 3) love roasted butternut squash/sweet potato soup and lentil soup. Easy, inexpensive, and good for you. To get little kids to eat soup, I often serve it in mugs (it’s more fun that way) or with a straw (to slurp up broth).
Carrie
Float some goldfish crackers or other kid sized munchies on top for even more kid appeal!
Jessica Fisher
Oyster crackers are good, too.